Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 570, H.J. Res. 100; that the only amendment in order to the joint resolution be the Sullivan-Cotton amendment No. 6503; that there be up to 20 minutes for debate equally divided between the leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote on the amendment; further, that following disposition of amendment No. 6503, the Senate then proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 119, which was received from the House and is at the desk; that there be up to 20 minutes for debate equally divided between the two leaders or their designees prior to a vote on the concurrent resolution; finally, that upon the disposition of the concurrent resolution, the Senate resume consideration of H.J. Res. 100 and that there be 2 minutes of debate equally divided between the two leaders or their designees, and upon the use or the yielding back of time, the joint resolution be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on the passage of the joint resolution, as amended, if amended; and that the amendment, concurrent resolution, and joint resolution require 60 affirmative votes for adoption, all without further intervening action or debate.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, for the information of Members, we are going to resume votes very soon, first on the Sullivan resolution, then on the sick-day resolution, and then on the concurrent, final resolution. Votes will be quick. I am glad that the two sides have come together so that we can avoid this shutdown, which would be extremely damaging to the country. I hope that we can add sick days under the Sanders resolution. And I urge Members--we are going to try to vote as quickly as we can to get this done. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the Blackwell and Pryor nominations be considered expired; that the vote on confirmation of the Blackwell nomination occur at a time to be determined by the majority leader, following consultation with the Republican leader; and that the vote on the confirmation of the Pryor nomination occur at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, December 5.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1185.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, December 1, be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1184.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1186.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1187.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, for millions and millions of Americans, today is a very good day, an important day, a day that has been a long time coming: We are voting to pass the Respect for Marriage Act. Later this afternoon, with a little more bipartisan cooperation, the Senate will vote to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, putting it on the brink of reaching the President's desk. In many ways, the story of America has been a difficult but inexorable march toward greater equality. Sometimes we have taken steps forward. Other times, unfortunately, we have taken disturbing steps backward. But, today, after months of hard work, after many rounds of bipartisan talks, and after many doubts that we could even reach this point, we are taking a momentous step forward for greater justice for LGBTQ Americans. Let me summarize how today will proceed. Later this afternoon, per an agreement between both parties, the Senate will hold three rollcall votes on amendments presented by Senators Lee, Lankford, and Rubio. A vote on final passage for the Respect for Marriage Act will be held after that. Standing here today, with the passage of this legislation, it is impossible not to think of my family. Today, I am wearing the tie I wore at my daughter's wedding, one of the happiest moments in my life. But I also cannot help but recall the harrowing conversation I had with her and her wife a little more than 2 years ago. In September of 2020, I was in the middle of a family dinner when we received the news that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had passed away. I remember that awful feeling around the dinner table, and I distinctly remember the question my daughter and her wife asked: ``Could our right to marry be undone?'' Millions of Americans in same-sex marriages go about their day with this terrible question lurking in the back of their minds. It is scary. It is a scary, but necessary, acknowledgement that, despite all the progress we have made, the constitutional right to same-sex marriage is not even a decade old and exists only by the virtue of a very narrow 5- to-4 Supreme Court decision. And we all know the Court has changed since that decision. As we have already seen this year, what the Court has decided in the past can be easily taken away in the future. So today's vote is deeply personal for many of us in this Chamber. It is personal for me, of course. It is personal to many of my colleagues and their staff and their families. And while we still have a few more votes to take, today is certainly an occasion for joy and relief. But as important as today is, let's remember that nothing about this process was certain. Remember--remember--it was our original plan to act on the Respect for Marriage Act in September, shortly after the House voted to pass this bill over the summer with a surprising 47 Republicans voting for the act. We knew this bill was popular. We knew it was the right thing to do, but what we did not know is whether or not we had enough support, 60 votes, to pass this bill through the Senate. Maybe the votes would materialize if we forced a vote on the floor, but that was highly unlikely. And for a great number of us, for so much of America, this bill was too important to risk failure. So back in September, when I met with the leaders of this bill in my office--Senators Sinema and Baldwin and Collins and Tillis and Portman--they recommended I hold off on a vote because they believed they could secure enough support for this bill. Many questioned if it was the right thing to do. Many on my side of the aisle felt: Put everyone on record right now. And sometimes, they say, that is the way to go. But at the end of the day, my No. 1 priority is always to get legislation passed through the Senate. So I made the decision to take the risk and to wait. Today, we have vindication that the wait was well worth it. Pushing Respect for Marriage over the finish line required patience and persistence, and, today, it is paying off. I want to thank the Senators who brought us this far--Senators Sinema and Baldwin, as well as Collins and Tillis and Portman--for their outstanding and relentless work. Their work has been magnificent, and I am so thankful they stayed the course even when success may have seemed elusive. I also want to acknowledge my Republican colleagues who voted in favor of advancing this legislation. Because of our work together, the rights of tens of millions of Americans will be strengthened under Federal law. That is an accomplishment we should all be proud of. And, of course, I want to thank all of the advocates, volunteers, and organizers not just for supporting this bill but for everything they have done over the years to make the United States a fairer, more accepting nation for LGBTQ Americans. Finally, let me finish where I started. Two years after my daughter and her wife questioned if their marriage could be undone, they are now expecting a baby next spring. I want them to raise their child with all the love and security that every child deserves, and the bill we are passing today will ensure their rights won't be trampled upon simply because they are in a same-sex marriage. After this bill passes, they will be the very first people I call. So thank you to my colleagues who spearheaded this bill. Thank you to my colleagues who have supported this bill. Thank you to the staff and members who worked day and night to find a path forward. And, maybe above all, thank you to the American people, the vast majority of whom have understood that the inexorable march toward equality is what America is all about. Government Funding Mr. President, on a different subject, the omnibus, earlier this morning, I joined with congressional leaders in a meeting with President Biden at the White House in order to discuss the things we must accomplish before the end of the year. We covered a lot of different topics, but there is one I want to focus on right now-- passing an omnibus. Leader McConnell and I have agreed to try and work together to make sure we get a yearlong funding bill done. We hope it can be done this year, and we know that each side is going to have to give in order to send an omnibus to the President's desk as, of course, it needs 60 votes. Government funding is scheduled to run out on December 16 at midnight. If we don't take action, the results will be a pointless and painful government shutdown. The best option, by far, is for both parties to come to the table and work on a yearlong funding bill, not a continuing resolution. Lurching from one short-term continuing resolution to the next is a terrible and chaotic way to keep the government open, and ultimately it is average Americans who get a raw deal if the government is forced to function with one hand tied behind its back. And maybe worst of all, a CR is terrible news for our troops in uniform. It will throw their families into great uncertainty and prevent our security force from conducting crucial operations that will keep us safe, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. So unless we want adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party to outmaneuver us militarily, we must pass an omnibus for the sake of our troops and the sake of our national security. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Now, Mr. President, for millions of Americans, today is a very good day, an important day, a day that has been a long time in coming. The Senate is passing the Respect for Marriage Act. Today, the long but inexorable march toward greater equality advances forward. By passing this bill, the Senate is sending a message that every American needs to hear: No matter who you are or whom you love, you, too, deserve dignity and equal treatment under the law. As the Chamber knows, this is personal to me, and the first people I will call when this bill passes will be my daughter and her wife. I want to thank my colleagues, joining the others, for making this legislation possible--and especially the teams of Senators Baldwin and Sinema and Collins, Tillis, and Portman. To all of you, I say: Bravo, a job well done. And to all who make the choice to support this bill, thank you. None of this was inevitable. At the urging of my colleagues, we took the calculated risk of holding off on a vote back in September because they believed, with more time, we could build enough bipartisan support to push this bill over the finish line. Today, we have vindication that the wait was well worth it. I thank my colleagues for their work. Above all, I want to thank the American people, the vast majority of whom understand deep in their hearts that the inexorable march toward equality is what America is all about. I yield the floor. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, what a great day. What a great day. Order of Procedure Mr. President, and now, moving forward, as we always try to do in the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of Calendar No. 1133; and that the cloture motions with respect to Calendar Nos. 1133, 1147, 1148, and 1129 ripen at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 30; further, that at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow, the Senate vote on motions to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar Nos. 1133 and 1147; that if cloture is invoked on the nomination, all postcloture time be considered expired at 2:15 on Wednesday.

Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1148.